The #2 Pick

[kblo247]

porzingis ceiling is not dirk imo.

his frame and skillset looks a lot like bargs...pencil thin, lanky kid, with a sweet J. He would get bullied in the league for quite a few years until he grows more into his body.

More Yi than Bargs if we talk recent picks. Yi had ups and moves that made him look better than his competition years ago. He just kept getting hurt

[Jody Smokz]

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/63143 ... 1432042047

Not saying Porz will be the "next" Dirk or the next great Euro or whoever but the reasons to say he won't be don't really add up. Dirk wasn't exactly Dirk that you remember in his rookie season either. Guys do way too much judging of these players at this stage and are the first ones to act like teams were stupid for missing out of on them once they become great down the line.

I wish the internet was around when Kobe was coming into the draft. Im sure most guys were have laughed at the idea of someone suggesting he'd be the 2nd best SG before half of his career was over and would probably be the next great thing after MJ pre Lebron

[Jody Smokz]

I can bet on everything the idea of Kobe being better than Eddie Jones w/i a year or 2 of his career would have been laughed at by most Laker fans as well in 96-97.

[what would jack bauer do?]

Yi lied about his age and was 23 his rookie year instead of the 19 people thought... So it's best not to compare to yi and probably more so bargs. At the same age bargnani only put up like 3ppg and 2rebs in the eurocup compared to porzingis who did very well in the eurocup.

Porzingis weighs 229 which is 9lbs fewer than bargnani as far as predraft workout weights. But at the same time Anthony Davis only weighed 222 at his draft combine. This is a new age nba fellas and Davis is the definition of the new nba center. Porzingis is drawing comparisons to a lot of players. With that sweet a stroke I think la must do their due diligence in finding out if porzingis is the next Dirk, ibaka, Davis, jianlian, or bargnani.

Playing well in the eurocup and shooting 46% from 3 is no joke. I really hope we get a workout with him and take the best player in the draft instead of the guy that will produce right away. We're not winning a championship in 2016. If we could tell how good a player is just from YouTube why bother with these workouts. Get the kid to agree to a lakers workout and draft the best franchise guy.

[jigga_man]

I don't know much about besides his offensive gifts, but reading the scouting report on DraftExpress regarding his defense:

Although he's far from being a finished product on this end of the floor, Porzingis also shows interesting potential defensively, evidenced by his 1.5 steals and 2 block averages per-40 minutes. His combination of size, length and mobility gives him impressive versatility on the pick and roll, allowing him to hedge out past the 3-point line and still recover in time to make a play in the paint for example. He's also agile enough to switch and stay in front of smaller players if called upon, giving his team the type of positional flexibility every coaching staff in the NBA covets greatly these days.

Besides the potential he shows as an athletic “stretch four,” Porzinigis also possesses another coveted attribute in his shot-blocking ability. The 6.6 blocks he averaged per-40 minutes this past summer at the U18 European Championship is the highest rate of any player in our database since 2012 by a wide margin. His 2.9 blocks per-40 is also the third best rate in the past fifteen seasons in Spain among players under the age of 20 (better than what current NBA per-minute shot-blocking leader Serge Ibaka averaged at the same age for example).

Porzingis' length, mobility and instincts give him great potential in general on this end of the floor. Despite his size, he has no problem covering most power forwards on the perimeter, as he does an excellent job of staying in front thanks to his terrific lateral quickness, and uses his length to contest shots effectively. He is also very adept at hedging screens well beyond the 3-point line, still being able to recover quickly enough to make a play at the rim, as he understands the concept of verticality quite well. Additionally, he uses his quickness to get in the passing lanes prolifically, averaging 1.7 steals per-40 minutes.

Maybe Okafor has been more scrutinized since he's a more known commodity, but outside his gifted post game he has glaring weaknesses defensively. I want the best player picked with the most potential and if the front office believes it's most likely will be Porzingis they should take him and not go with the safest pick.

[Wavy Q]

Jesus if we draft Porzingis I'm gonna be so pissed.

[LApwnd]

if he only he was built like this....kinda looks like him too lol

[Westbreezy]

Here a video of him playing in Europe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naiNypEtmhM

Looks like a 7 foot tall Curry

Kid has so much potential. He moves like a bust though

[LApwnd]

Here a video of him playing in Europe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naiNypEtmhM

Looks like a 7 foot tall Curry

Kid has so much potential. He moves like a bust though

the way he runs seems so weird, not fluid at all, just like Myles Turner. Its like that tall lanky kid in school who grew like 1ft in a summer and dont know how to move with his new found height.

-IF mgmt wanna pick this guy, I hope they got plans to trade down, we wouldn't look as stupid if he was say the 5th or the 6th pick if he turns out to be a bust. I really dont believe Sixers would take him 3rd if we took Ok4 at 2 or even Russell at 2. No way Phil takes this sort of risk either even at 4th, his butt is on the hot seat pretty much the day he became NY GM no way he takes this kind of risk this early into his tenure. Find a way to get 5th or 6th with another low end lotto pick and I'd glady accept this Porzingis guy as the pick.

[loveshaq786]

Guys.... you know ny really wants to trade with us. I know some of you are really high on okafor, as am i, but what would you rather have?

Okafor, swaggy and 34th pick or... poz or Russell or mudiay AND hardaway jr?

That would be a realistic option.

[PKABOOICU]

porzingis ceiling is not dirk imo.

his frame and skillset looks a lot like bargs...pencil thin, lanky kid, with a sweet J. He would get bullied in the league for quite a few years until he grows more into his body.

More Yi than Bargs if we talk recent picks. Yi had ups and moves that made him look better than his competition years ago. He just kept getting hurt

Yi is also a good comparison, but it seems like porzingis has a nicer jumper, while Yi was actually pretty damn athletic. The general board is comparing him to Dirk, but if you look at his rookie pics, Dirk was already wider and stonger than Porzi is right now.
I just wouldn't take the risk on him...the lakers really need to make the "safe" draft choice, they can't afford to screw up this pick...thats why I'm actually kinda leaning towards D'angelo Russell or Jahlil Okafor. At worst, both of those guys are good 2nd/3rd options on a contending team. Okafor could easily be a 1st option on offense within 3 years. He's that good in the post.
If the lakers could teach him defense (which i believe they can), he's a clear cut first pick, and a bonafide superstar in the league. I'd stay away from anybody not named KAT/OKAFOR/RUSSELL.

[LApwnd]

Guys.... you know ny really wants to trade with us. I know some of you are really high on okafor, as am i, but what would you rather have?

Okafor, swaggy and 34th pick or... poz or Russell or mudiay AND hardaway jr?

That would be a realistic option.

Hardaway sucks, dumping Swaggy isn't enough of incentive either. They need to give up an protected 1st in 2017 or 18 whichever they can give.

[loveshaq786]

Dont trade the 34th pick to ny,

try sending Hardaway, s&t lin, 27th, 34th for SACs 5th and they can dump Landry on us........feasible?

[DEEP3CL]

Not impressed by that footage, all jumpers no strong drives, no post ups, no bang'in in the paint and no defensive footage. Offense isn't going to be a problem for us, if we build a competent offense squad that will be enough. The problem with prospects like this kid is can he bang NBA style for offensive and defensive boards, show quick enough on a pick and roll, react to helping on the weak side.


Miss me with offensive footage....I need to see if a dude is the total package.

[jigga_man]

Not impressed by that footage, all jumpers no strong drives, no post ups, no bang'in in the paint and no defensive footage. Offense isn't going to be a problem for us, if we build a competent offense squad that will be enough. The problem with prospects like this kid is can he bang NBA style for offensive and defensive boards, show quick enough on a pick and roll, react to helping on the weak side.


Miss me with offensive footage....I need to see if a dude is the total package.

The link posted above did show defensive plays. The bolded is pretty much the main weaknesses for Okafor. I can't see anyone being high on him and be cold for Porzingis.

[Sedale Threatt]

There's absolutely no way you draft a kid that high to keep him in Europe, especially not for four or five years. You do that with second round picks, not high lottery prospects.

At any rate, I have no idea what to make of this kid. He's obviously raw as hell. Not endorsing in the slightest. But a power forward who can block shots, lock up the pick and roll out to the 3-point line and hit 3s is a pretty damn valuable piece. Sounds like his post defense sucks, which is a huge blemish. But otherwise that's Rasheed Wallace like.

[DEEP3CL]

I don't know much about besides his offensive gifts, but reading the scouting report on DraftExpress regarding his defense:

Although he's far from being a finished product on this end of the floor, Porzingis also shows interesting potential defensively, evidenced by his 1.5 steals and 2 block averages per-40 minutes. His combination of size, length and mobility gives him impressive versatility on the pick and roll, allowing him to hedge out past the 3-point line and still recover in time to make a play in the paint for example. He's also agile enough to switch and stay in front of smaller players if called upon, giving his team the type of positional flexibility every coaching staff in the NBA covets greatly these days.

Besides the potential he shows as an athletic “stretch four,” Porzinigis also possesses another coveted attribute in his shot-blocking ability. The 6.6 blocks he averaged per-40 minutes this past summer at the U18 European Championship is the highest rate of any player in our database since 2012 by a wide margin. His 2.9 blocks per-40 is also the third best rate in the past fifteen seasons in Spain among players under the age of 20 (better than what current NBA per-minute shot-blocking leader Serge Ibaka averaged at the same age for example).

Porzingis' length, mobility and instincts give him great potential in general on this end of the floor. Despite his size, he has no problem covering most power forwards on the perimeter, as he does an excellent job of staying in front thanks to his terrific lateral quickness, and uses his length to contest shots effectively. He is also very adept at hedging screens well beyond the 3-point line, still being able to recover quickly enough to make a play at the rim, as he understands the concept of verticality quite well. Additionally, he uses his quickness to get in the passing lanes prolifically, averaging 1.7 steals per-40 minutes.

Maybe Okafor has been more scrutinized since he's a more known commodity, but outside his gifted post game he has glaring weaknesses defensively. I want the best player picked with the most potential and if the front office believes it's most likely will be Porzingis they should take him and not go with the safest pick.

And you think Porzingis doesn't have any glaring weakness ? You forget that whatever scouting reports come out on him is based on his play in Europe. In Europe he wasn't trying to hedge out on a Russell Westbrook, who would use his dynamic speed and explosiveness to evade this kid. There is no evidence that he could cover Anthony Davis coming from weakside help.

Porzingis isn't the best player in this draft, this draft is more than just about trying to find players that plays the way the rest of the NBA is playing. I don't want a team full of stretch 4's and ball dominate guards. Remember "potential" means you're not there yet or don't have it.

[DEEP3CL]

Dont trade the 34th pick to ny,

try sending Hardaway, s&t lin, 27th, 34th for SACs 5th and they can dump Landry on us........feasible?

Lol..you actually think this is a competent trade ?

Do you actually think the Kings front office is that lucid to even do that, their fan base is excited for that 5th lottery selection. You think they should just trade it to make the Lakers better ?

[LApwnd]

Dont trade the 34th pick to ny,

try sending Hardaway, s&t lin, 27th, 34th for SACs 5th and they can dump Landry on us........feasible?

Lol..you actually think this is a competent trade ?

Do you actually think the Kings front office is that lucid to even do that, their fan base is excited for that 5th lottery selection. You think they should just trade it to make the Lakers better ?

actually its 6th

[loveshaq786]

I did get carried away with that one